Teens, Crime, and the Community

• NCJ Number: 247969
• Author(s): Monte Evans II
• Date Published: September 1999
• Length: 2 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Youth in Action Series
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description; Instructional Material (Programmed); Factsheet

Annotation

After describing the general features of the national program, "Teens, Crime, and the Community" (TCC) - which combines education and action to reduce teen victimization - this issue of Youth in Action describes how TCC is being implemented in various schools throughout the Nation, followed by brief instructions on how to start a TCC program.

Abstract

TCC was developed under a partnership between the National Crime Prevention Council and Street Law, Inc, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In a TCC program, school teachers and other staff instruct youth in the effects of crime, how to recognize and prevent crime, how to report crime, how to be a good witness, and how to help crime victims. Just over half a million youth in 40 States have participated in TCC since it began in 1985. TCC engages youth in various types of projects, including designing billboards on crime prevention, conducting workshops on date rape, administering surveys on violence, cleaning up neighborhoods, and organizing fundraisers for the homeless. Examples are provided of a few TCC programs that have had a significant impact on youth. These examples come from a middle school in San Antonio, TX; a high school in Birmingham, AL; and a teen center in Atlanta, GA.